5.  The applicant was born in 1972 and is currently detained in Bobov Dol Prison.
6.  On 26 May 1999 the applicant was arrested on suspicion of murder and placed in the detention centre at the Ruse Investigation Service. On 8 March 2000 he was transferred to Lovech Prison. Initially, he was detained in the prison as an accused, pending the outcome of his trial. After 27 November 2003, when he was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment, he remained there to serve his sentence. On 5 November 2008 he was transferred to Bobov Dol Prison.
7.  After 27 November 2003 the applicant was placed under a “special regime” (see paragraphs 22-23 below).
8.  While in Lovech Prison, for an unspecified initial period of time the applicant was in an individual cell measuring four square metres. Subsequently he was placed in a cell measuring 12.6 square metres which he shared with other inmates. None of those cells was equipped with toilet facilities, sinks or running water, and the inmates were allowed to go to the toilet only three times a day, for ten minutes each time. Outside those periods they had to relieve themselves in a plastic bucket which they could empty and clean when going to the toilet.
9.  According to the applicant, the food served was insufficient and not of satisfactory quality.
10.  Neither the Government nor the applicant submitted information about the conditions of the applicant's detention in Bobov Dol Prison.
11.  On 27 April 2004 the applicant complained to the prison administration of the practice of using buckets and of the quality of the food. It is unclear whether he received a reply. After his transfer to Bobov Dol Prison the complaint was destroyed. The Court has not been informed of the administration's reply.
12.  On 27 October 2004 the applicant brought a claim before the Lovech District Court against the Ministry of Justice. He sought 3,000 Bulgarian levs (BGN) under section 1 of a 1988 Act governing State liability for damage (see paragraph 25 below), alleging that he had suffered distress and humiliation as a result of the poor conditions of his detention. The claim concerned the period from 8 March 2000 to 27 October 2004.
13.  The judges who dealt with the case visited the prison and inspected the cells in which the applicant had been kept. They heard witnesses and gathered other evidence.
14.  In a judgment of 8 July 2005 the Lovech District Court partly allowed the claim. It found that by failing to ensure access to toilet facilities and running water the authorities had failed to comply with their obligation to ensure conditions of detention compatible with human dignity. It held:
“There is no doubt that having to use a bucket for toilet needs, in a cell measuring around ten square metres, without sufficient ventilation, in the presence of others, diminishes human dignity, falls foul of all sorts of criteria of hygiene [and] poses a serious risk to the inmates' health. The conditions, in which [the applicant was] placed, amounted to degrading treatment ...”
15.  In the court's opinion, that situation was incompatible with Article 3 of the Convention and several provisions of domestic law. In reaching that conclusion the court had regard to this Court's case-law and the recommendations of the Committee for the Prevention of Torture concerning the use of buckets in the cells (see paragraph 27 below).
16.  The court went on to examine the applicant's allegation that the food had been insufficient and of poor quality. However, it found that this was unsubstantiated, as the food served to the inmates was prepared in strict compliance with the portions and requirements adopted by the Ministry of Health.
17.  In assessing the amount of damages to be awarded to the applicant, the court said:
“The non-pecuniary damage [in this case] amounted to encroachment upon the identity, honour and dignity of [the applicant, and to] daily psychological and physical discomfort when using a bucket for sanitary needs. [The applicant] failed to establish the extent to which that affected [him] psychologically and caused him to suffer morally. Neither every unpleasant sensation or feeling nor every episode of depression can give rise to an entitlement to receive compensation for non-pecuniary damage. In view of that, in determining the amount of compensation the court takes into account the subjective feelings characteristic of an individual of that age, sex and state of health, as well as [the applicant's] personality, and concludes that [his] psychological sphere was affected in a way and to a degree typical for any person placed in the same situation. There is no indication that [the applicant's] physical or psychological health worsened as a result of the defendant's unlawful failure to act.”
18.  The court also emphasised that the claim concerned a long period, lasting from 8 March 2000 to 27 October 2004. On the basis of those considerations, it awarded the applicant BGN 250 (the equivalent of 128 euros (EUR)).
19.  As it dismissed part of the claim, the court ordered the applicant to pay a court fee in the amount of BGN 150, which represented a percentage of the dismissed part (see paragraph 26 below). Thus, the sum that the applicant was to receive came to BGN 100 (the equivalent of EUR 51).
20.  On 9 August 2005 the applicant appealed, claiming a higher amount in damages.
21.  In a final judgment of 6 January 2006 the Lovech Regional Court upheld the district court's judgment, fully agreeing with its reasoning and saying that
“no evidence [had been] presented for any specific damage or deterioration of [the applicant's] state of health or psychological well‑being”.